I posted this on my Facebook and Github, but I thought I'd post it here for a more public audience.

Recently, while working on Japanoblog, I realized that there was a problem: when we created videos, we would post them for our Patreon supporters 3 days early so they could get early access to them. However, I had a few options:

I could post a separate video to Youtube/Vimeo/etc and share the link, but then wait 3 days and upload the real video and take down the temp one (which would mean 2x the work, and misleading stats)

I could make the video "Unlisted" and share the link with our Patreon supporters, then wait 3 days and change the video to "Public" for all, or

Do the 2nd option, but then have the server automatically change the status to "Public" when the video was ready to go public (as per the blog post publishing date

Well, being the pragmatic programmer that I am, I figured out how to make the server do it for me. But it was not an easy task (apparently, nobody had done this before - at least, on a public searchable point). After scouring the internet to dissect the Youtube API, Google OAuth (along with token creation), researching and pulling parts from about 7 different public user projects, and some patient testing, I finally have it...I hope.

It feels like forever since I posted last, but I thought I'd get an update in before I head to a friend's party tonight.

I've been working on the NSMT alert system, and it keeps bugging me how something works so perfectly on our end (we've even tried to break the system, and it still worked), but it doesn't work on the remote end. I can't really determine the issue and it's becoming harder and harder to figure out what the issue is if the end-user doesn't let us know if something is causing it or what their environment is for their system. It could be anything from a simple security setting to browser restrictions to Admin settings to anything! We don't really provide Tech Support (and this is one of the main reasons). I've been down that road and it baffles my mind how some technology users can be so oblivious about something so simple (it's like someone calling a car mechanic and saying "My car is going WHIRR - fix it!" when the car is sitting in the driveway - impossible to diagnose from remote and impossible to fix if if the problem can't be determined).

I'm also working on some training videos, and found how how YouTube works with privacy settings. I originally uploaded a video and posted it online, but found out that the video was only available to me and my friends. I tweaked that and found out how to make it public, but private. I was also asked how to increase the volume and told them how to increase it via the YouTube application (I told them "we didn't design it, so we can't change it"). I told them that the volume works fine on our end at 30% with and without headphones, so I can't tell what their problem is.

I've also had to push some other client projects back to get this done. It's really irking me to tell these clients "Please wait while we get this done for another client", but what can you do when the company only has 1 developer?

Anyway, I'm gonna call it a night and head to my friend's party in Asheville.

After 2.5 weeks working on the same thing, I'm calling it a night. I finally have the advanced record modifier done for a client. It uses jQuery to find eligible fields, turns them into a textbox on click, allows for editing of the content, and auto-saves it when the field is clicked out. I spent the past few weeks trying to get the .live function to work with the .bind function, only to have the whole system backfire on me. I finally did a small-scale model from scratch, and made the whole system work in 25 lines (with error trapping and notifications). I was baffled that I could get this 25-line jQuery to work properly and more, but couldn't get it in my original 200+ line script. I finally decided to scrap that and use my small scale model to do that. After some initial tweaking, it finally worked. I then had to add some features covering drop down boxes, and that worked as well. Afterwards, I made a tutorial video for the client showing the New system in action, and just emailed them about that. Here's the code now:

On the flip side, I have a lot to do for this client. My todo list is already growing, and it seems that they keep emailing me with new features and ideas. I hope they know that we have other clients waiting to get work done as well.

I came in this morning (early afternoon?) and was determined to finish the jQuery record modifier. I also received word that a tenant had some internet issues, so I made sure to take care of that first since I didn't get to see her Friday (like I promised). After about an hour of debugging and troubleshooting, I guessed that the wireless device was bad, so I went to the office, got a spare one (thank god), and replaced it. She was up and running in a matter of minutes.

I then got an email from the Executive Director of the building asking for some Tech help with installing a program. He was out of the office at the time, so I emailed him saying to tell me when he got back in and I'd take a look at it. I got a text from Keat saying to pick her up from school, and a short moment later, the Executive Director walks in and says he's here. I ask him to wait about 30 minutes, and I'll be right in. I went to go pick up Keat, got back, helped him install a piece of software, and got back in the office. By this time, it was 2:15. I hadn't even touched the system.

I finished up my Reader and went to tidy up some loose ends I had yesterday. IE was giving me a headache because of a new request the Client had asked (switching two sections on the main page). Everything was fine yesterday until I went to email them saying it was done, but I got the idea to check the page in IE first. I did that, and (of course) IE messed everything up. I tried to insert some IE-specific CSS, but IE didn't want that. I finally made the code inline, and still no luck - that's when I went home last night. After re-looking at it, I made one small change (deleting the space between -- and [ for the IE-specific CSS comment), and that worked. Finally, 1 task down. Time to work on the Record modifier.

...and that brings us to the beginning of the post. I'm glad to call that Task complete, but I can guarantee that for every 1 task completed for this client, I'm gonna get 2 more. It seems like my todo list will never end.

I'm trying to teach Keat how to do some basic coding (do cover some of the more basic work while I work on the advanced stuff), but it seems that we either can't find a common time to do it, or every time we CAN do it, something comes up and we can't train. We're looking to hire an additional developer soon (if this work load keeps up) and an HR person down the road. Don't know how salary will be, but I'll look into that once I'm done with this ever-growing todo list.

PS: I also beat R&C: Up Your Arsenal last night. It took forever to get R&C 1 to the point where I could get the 10% discount on weapons, and the boss fight only took me 4 tries, but I will give the overall game a 9/10 on fun.